Art Junket West — mbfitzmahan

From garage to museum

All night my heart makes its way
however it can over the rough ground
of uncertainties, but only until night
meets and then is overwhelmed by
morning, the light deepening, the
wind easing and just waiting, as I
too wait (and when have I ever been
disappointed?) for redbird to sing.

Mary Oliver, A Thousand Mornings: Poems, 2012

This is the best— throwing off the light covers, feet on the cold floor, and buzzing around the house on espresso— (Billy Collins, “Morning,” 1998)

The Art Junket is a community based art group in the Bay Area in Northern California. Founded in 2014, two artists started an art movement on the east shore of San Francisco Bay. Six artists were invited. They weren’t professional artists, but they were eager to make art and to meet other artists. Each artist came to the salon with a newly created work of art reflecting a theme. The artists were inspired and influenced by each other.

The art salon is a meeting of talent and ideas, where the members of the Art Junket have developed friendships and trust. It is a place where artists can take risks and feel supported.

Every year, the Art Junket celebrates works created during the Art Junket’s latest series. The Art Junket Exhibition, first held in a garage in Berkeley, has grown into an official gallery show at Oakland’s Art Murmur.

Maureen Fitzmahan and Erin Mahollitz, co-founders and leaders of the Art Junket, moved to upstate New York in July 2018. Kaitlin Strange, co-founder, took over leadership of Art Junket West.

Without a heartbeat, the Art Junket members made the change. In the Fall, the group, led by Katie and Taska Sanford, organized the Art Junket’s exhibit for Oakland’s Art Murmur’s and Art Walk.

Maureen Fitzmahan continues to support the group with copious emails, blogposts, Slack chats, and themes for each meeting.

“I am sure Katie can attest that every Art Junket get together is somehow punctuated by the presence of both (Maureen) and Erin; what you might say, what you have said, how you might approach or have approached something. You both come up in conversation and are referenced regularly. Missed is not enough to describe your absence, but you are present, regardless, through email and such, too.” (Tao Graham, April 2019)

Another change is in the horizon, as Katie Strange also leaves the Bay. She recently received a grant to begin studies in a PhD program in Barcelona, Catalonia - Spain in Fall 2019. There are plans to open a third branch of the Art Junket in Barcelona.

Oh, woe… Change is at the heart of great art. Sometimes it hurts.

Photos and words: Maureen Fitzmahan